Produced by Unilever, Dove soap is part of an extensive body care line that includes not only beauty bars but lotions, body washes, antiperspirants, hair and facial care products. First launched on the American market in 1955, Dove soap was initially produced in The Netherlands under the name of De Duif, which means the dove. Then and now this beauty bar is advertised as containing one fourth moisturizing cream, which explains the softness and hydration of the skin after usage. A dermatological study conducted in the late 70s confirmed the fact that Dove soap did not irritate or dry the skin the way regular soaps do.
Based on such scientific data, the company started an even more aggressive marketing promotion of Dove soap, winning over many other users. The composition of Dove soap as such has nothing impressive about it: the ingredients mainly include synthetic surfactants and some vegetable oil extracts. The good effects on the skin are associated primarily with the balanced pH of the soap that ranges somewhere between 6.5 and 7.5. Lots of Dove soap varieties are presently available on the market, each with a different specificity: there is Dove soap for dead cells exfoliation, Dove for sensitive skin, nourishing Dove, anti-aging Dove and several energy glow versions.
The skin re-hydration properties of Dove soap seem to be justified and proved if we think about how soft it leaves the skin afterwards. Unfortunately, this achievement is not the merit of some herbal or essential oil action but that of chemicals that act as foaming and wetting agents; this is the role played by the main ingredient in Dove soap: Sodium Cocyl Isethionate. The action of this component is supported by the fatty Stearic acid derived from plant and animal fats that cover the same emollient function. Therefore, the cream bar, as Dove soap is usually called may not totally justify its higher price.
Presently, there is a very intense Greenpeace campaign carried against Dove producers who are being criticized for purchasing palm oil supplies from Indonesian sources that massively deforest the South Asian globe areas. Greenpeace has even come up with some advertising parodies in which the Dove soap beauty instances are replaced by images from Indonesia, with trees being massively cut down. Yet, the solution is not that of changing customer’s mind about whether to buy or not but to get a modification in the company’s policy concerning ingredient supplies and suppliers.
